Jewish World Review Feb. 14, 2005 / 5 Adar I 5765

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Polanski pulls out all stops to outwit legal system


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Director Roman Polanski has once again managed to outwit the legal system. He remains a fugitive from justice in the U.S. while also suing Vanity Fair magazine from the convenience of his own home in France.

In 1977, Polanski invited a 13-year-old girl over for a photo shoot. After giving her alcohol, drugs and taking topless pictures of her, Polanski had sex with her and drove the ninth-grader home to her mom. He asked her to keep it a secret. She didn't and Polanski was charged with six felonies.

He pled guilty to one — having sex with a minor — as part of a deal he made with California prosecutors. But Polanski fled before his sentencing hearing because he still feared a light prison sentence. He has stayed out of the U.S. ever since.

For the past thirty years, the director has lived in Paris and made movies like "The Pianist". It just so happens that having sex with a minor is not considered an offense serious enough to justify extradition in France. Conveniently, he shoots his movies in countries that won't send him back.

Now, he has the gall to sue Vanity Fair over an apparently false report in the July 2002 issue that he tried to seduce a woman within weeks of the murder of his wife Sharon Tate, who was killed in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson.

But he didn't sue in France. You see the libel laws work better for him in England. So he sued there. Of course the Brits would send him back to the U.S. so what is a fugitive to do?

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Apparently, he will testify via videolink since he can't actually attend the trial.

In a 3-2 decision, a British court ruled that he can do just that. It's great to hear that the Brits are so concerned about preserving the "civil rights" of fugitive sex offenders.

Winning an Oscar should not entitle anyone to pick and choose which parts of the legal system to use and disregard. Polanski ends up getting "justice" by winning big bucks because his reputation was allegedly damaged. While the State of California continues to wait for justice, he sips Bordeaux along the Seine with his newfound cash.

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JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 9-10 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.

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